Everyone says EPS is the best thing about the XP. I strongly disagree. The new suspension is leaps and bounds better all around than the old struts. The higher geared low range is a huge benefit, plus the 4x4 in reverse without pushing the override is great. The racks are a little smaller than the previous sportsmans, but still bigger than the competition.

Was riding with my dad today. He rides a 08 800. He raves about the XP even more than I do. Our trails are twisty and slow through wooded trails and mud. The higher geared low range was such a big factor for this type of riding. The competition has nothing on the Xp as far as that goes. The steering effort even on the non EPS is still much better than the 800, along with the anti-kickback, it's just a whole better machine than the others. After riding many other quads, this XP is by far the best on the market for an all around trail machine.

 

No question......You'll be surprised at the level of pull when you push deep into the throttle and grab a good chunk of the powerband. Eye opener it is. Just MO, but I'd get the power-steering. It's nice. Hey your wife won some settlement.......I don't think they come without powersteering........do they

 

Roof....I don't hear a lot of folks saying EPS is "the" best thing about the XP. It is a sweet feature though. When I ride fast on rough trails it's nice to have to absorb the shock of rocks, roots and holes. Definitely not the single best thing though, just a bonus to have. I run tracks in the winter and it helps to help turn those big hunks of rubber without too much effort. EPS is great, no question about it.

The pump looks like something off a small automobile. Don't see it failing in the near future. Have not heard a single complaint about EPS since last January.

 

The quote I read is "I won't drive another machine without power steering"......... In other words, that means I wouldn't have bought the atv if it didn't have power steering.

Not that it isn't a great feature, but I just had to point out that the other aspects of the machine are just as important, if not, more important.

I forgot to add that the Xp runs cooler than any other big bore and gets better mileage than the older sportsmans.